Negligence by 'Udta Punjab' producers delayed certificate procedure: Nihalani

Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chief Pahlaj Nihalani on Wednesday said that the procedure to hand over the 'A' certificate for the controversial flick 'Udta Punjab' had been delayed solely due to the negligence by the producers of the movie.

"We have given the certificate before 48 hours. It is very easy to target CBFC. CBFC knows its work and does according to the procedure and is also diligent in performing their duties. Due to the producer's negligence the procedure got late. We have given the certificate to the producer at around 5:30 p.m. the certificate was ready from 3 p.m today," Nihalani told the media here.

"They didn't have the DVD after which they went to the court. Then the court said to hand over the DVD to us as it was a procedure. They were not following the procedure. We have not taken any strict action and the court has also given relief to them, still I don't understand why they were so restless," he added.

CBFC today issued a fresh release certificate 'Udta Punjab' after the Bombay High Court passed the film with just one cut and three disclaimers.

The Censor Board gave an 'A' certificate to the film citing that the film is suitable for exhibition but only for adults.

Interestingly, Bombay HC had ordered the Censor Board to issue the fresh certificate to 'Udta Punjab' within 48 hours and had asserted that in case of failure legal action will be taken against the person responsible.